DEA Knew Of Benoit's Excessive Steroid Buys

JULY 2--Wrestler Chris Benoit was identified by Drug Enforcement Administration agents as an 'excessive purchaser of injectable steroids' who, over the past year, was prescribed a 10-month supply of anabolic steroids every three to four weeks by a Georgia doctor who was indicted today on federal charges. Benoit, who last week murdered his wife and son before committing suicide, came to the attention of DEA agents probing RX Weight Loss, a Marietta company. It was during that investigation, which is 'currently being prosecuted in the Northern District of Georgia,' that narcotics agents discovered the World Wrestling Entertainment performer's steroid purchases, according to a June 29 search warrant affidavit (an excerpt of which you'll find below). The warrant was executed at the home of Phil Astin, Benoit's doctor. In the affidavit, DEA Agent Anissa Jones reports that pharmacy records show that, from May 2006 to May 2007, Astin prescribed Benoit, on average, 'a 10-month supply of anabolic steroids...every three to four weeks.' Astin, the affidavit notes, has been the 'subject of concern for excessive and/or suspicious prescribing activity' by local police and pharmacies. Astin, 52, was named today in a seven-count indictment charging him with the illegal distribution of substances like Percocet and Xanax between April 2004 and September 2005. A preliminary DEA review of Astin's prodigious prescription writing has revealed that he 'authorized approximately one million dosage units of various pharmaceutical controlled substances in the last two years.' These scrips included 'significant quantities' of an injectable anabolic steroid, reported Jones. (5 pages)